Rumours of his departure had apparently calmed down since Chris Paul was traded to the Clippers but, recently, some Amar’e Stoudemire trade rumours have resurfaced.

Although I would disagree with such a move by the Knicks – especially considering the fact that he was the man who turned the ship around last year – it’s important to address a trade as a real possibility. These are the New York Knicks, afterall.

Making use of ESPN’s Trade Machine and a handful of rumours, I’ve tried to outline exactly how these deals may or may not go down, showing who would come back to New York and who (if anybody) would leave with Amar’e.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the possibilities…

Philadelphia 76ers

The latest set of rumours link Amar’e Stoudemire to the 76ers, who have reportedly “inquired” about the All-Star power forward. Although discussions are at as basic a level as they could possibly be, I’ve carved out a realistic trade if Amar’e were to be shipped to Philly.

New York receives:

Andre Iguodala – G/F ($13.5 million)

Lou Williams – PG ($5 million)

Philadelphia receives:

Amar’e Stoudemire – PF ($18 million)

In this trade, the Knicks will receive two starting quality guards to fill out the starting line-up but will likely need to pick up a forward in free agency to make up for the loss of Amar’e. Igoudala and Williams would bring defence to New York and would do little to hamper the team’s chemistry. Philly’s roster doesn’t really allow for much else to be traded to New York besides draft picks. Elton Brand possesses the Sixers’ only other large contract and the only two players who could possibly be inter-changed with Lou Williams are Andres Nocioni and Evan Turner.Orlando Magic

Outside of Philadelphia, the most prominent rumour we have seen is a trade based around a swap of Amar’e Stoudemire and the World’s best centre, Dwight Howard. The fact that Dwight appears unwillingto re-sign the Magic come the end of his contract makes such a lop-sided trade posible. let’s see who else would have to be thrown in:

New York receives:

Dwight Howard – C ($18 million)

Hedo Turkoglo – SF ($11 million)

Orlando receives:

Amar’e Stoudemire – PF ($18 million)

Tyson Chandler – C ($13 million)

A straight Amar’e-Dwight swap would work out mathematically but this would mess up the rosters with both Tyson Chandler on Dwight Howard on the Knicks. Instead, Tyson Chandler and Hedo Turkoglu. Of course, since the Knicks only recently traded for Tyson himself,the trade would have to be completed nearer the deadline to comply with NBA restrictions. The trade works out pretty well from both teams, who would be able to build on from here with roster numbers at the same level.

New Jersey Nets

Deron Williams is another rumoured option but, frankly, the Nets would be pretty stupid to accept a trade based around these two if they aren’t convinced that Williams wouldn’t re-up when the team moves to Brooklyn. If they were to accept, though, the trade may look something like this:

New York receives:

Deron Williams – PG ($16 million)

Anthony Morrow – SG ($4 million)

Orlando receives:

Amar’e Stoudemire – PF ($18 million)

Toney Douglas – PG ($1 million)

Landry Fields – SG ($0.7 million)

In this scenario, the Knicks also bring in sharp-shooter Anthony Morrow to help out, giving up Fields and Douglas to further entice the Nets

Phoenix Suns

Here’s a bit of my own out-of-the-blue speculation. Everyone’s talking about STAT and Nash re-uniting in New York, but why not in Phoenix? It would be a marketable move for the Suns, who could then claim that they are not, in fact, keeping Nash away from his title dreams and it would be a good start for the Knicks if they were to try to build a roster around Carmelo Anthony.

New York receives:

Hakim Warrick – PF ($4 million)

Marcin Gortat – C ($7 million)

Charlie Frye – C ($5.5 million)

Phoenix receives:

Amar’e Stoudemire – PF ($18 million)

This trade looks pretty underwhelming on the surface from the Knicks point of view but, as I said, this would be a good start to building an actual roster rather than simply trying to glue a couple of superstars together. Also, if we wait until March 1st, there is the potential for Telfair to be added to the trade.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Last one here; another of my own creations. This trade would be all about cap space and going after Howard or Williams in the Summer. The trade would be centered around Stoudemire and Jamison, with another piece added to make it work.

New York receives:

Antawn Jamison – PF ($15 million)

Ramon Sessions – PG ($4 million)

Cleveland receives:

Amar’e Stoudemire – PF ($18 million)

In terms of keeping a hold of assets, this would be the Knicks best move to go after Howard, in my opinion. I’m not too sure about Jamison’s status as far as player options at the end of the year but at it’s base this trade could work. Irving would get a partner and the Knicks would receive cap space and a potential long-term point guard.

So, there there they are, my potential Amar’e Stoudemire trade scenarios. I must re-iterate that I really want Stoudemire to stay in New York and, although some of these trades may work, sometimes sentiment can be important in sport. Metrics can show you some bad about Stoudemire and predictions may tell you that his knees will blow sometime in the future, but nothing will change the fact that he brought basketball back to New York.